1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a design change supporting system, program and recording medium. More particularly, the invention relates to a design change supporting system capable of corresponding to globalization of both product supply and service systems, and program capable of executing an operation of such a design change supporting system. The present invention also particularly relates to a recording medium capable of storing such program.
2. Discussion of the Background Art
Recently, user needs with regard to a product have become increasingly diversified, and collection of products suitable for both Japan and other international destinations, such as North America, Europe, etc., is progressively expanded. As a result, similar products having substantially the same parts construction are increasingly simultaneously produced even by the same manufacturer both in domestic and foreign countries at a plurality of facilities, in parallel. Further, in order to improve efficiency of development and credibility and to decrease the cost of a product, units and parts are commonly designed even if those are of different models.
A product band, whose parts are strikingly made into common, is designed both in domestic and foreign countries, and is hence produced at a plurality of production facilities. In addition, a service system for sold products is dispersed and expanded to a plurality of service facilities both in domestic and foreign countries. In this way, product supplying and servicing systems are becoming increasingly global.
Further, when the design for a part of a product is changed, the designer of the part should grasp the entire products and bases affected by the design change, and request an assessment of the design change capability of these facilities. FIG. 12 is a conventional workflow illustrating an operational stream starting from parts design change ending to the product's release. Specifically, when a product is to be modified or improved, the designer prepares a design change instruction, obtains an examination approval stamp within the division, and transmits, by means of a written document, a request for inspection of conformity to a standard, which the product has applied for and obtained. Further, manufacture and service engineers and the like transmit result of technical and functional inspections, such as assembling and parts processing performance, service performance in a market, and a need for approval from an OEM destination in accordance with an OEM contract in the case of an OEM product. Thus, inspections are routinely performed in this way. Then, in accordance with such inspection results, a design change instruction is approved and released, and hence instruction executing the design change are distributed to related divisions to be executed.
Due to the above-described globalization of the product supply and service systems, it is difficult for the designer to maintain control over entire products employing a design changing objective parts and production and service facilities. In addition, it unavoidably takes an enormous period of time until the design change is finally accepted and is notified in detail to related sections in a company, if these related divisions serially perform inspections.
The Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 10-63708 proposes a drawing processing system that facilitates design change by electronically executing a workflow necessary for the design change. In such a conventional technology, a workflow electronically and sequentially issues a design change instruction describing instructive contents of the design change to a prescribed approval stamp affixer, and the like, in order to get approval. However, there exists no awareness of such a subject that an section or a person in charge, affected by the design change are effectively selected without leakage in correspondence with the globalization of the above-described product supply and service systems. Accordingly, a device or system for resolving such a subject has not been described.